South Shore Camera Club
Quincy, Massachusetts

The Competition is held at the Quincy Point Congregational Church, Quincy, where the South Shore Camera Club [SSCC] holds its meetings. From October through April of each year the SSCC sponsors a monthly photo competition for its members.

All images are judged by an independent judge during the month prior to the competition night meeting. On the Competition Night all of the images entered are shown and commentary is given on the images at the discretion of the judge.

All members are encouraged to enter any or all of the available categories, and compete for the Photographers of the Year awards presented at the annual banquet in June. In addition to the fun of competing, the judges’ critiques provide a wonderful opportunity for both beginners and advanced photographers to improve their photographic techniques.

Eligibility

All members in good standing are eligible to enter. Members in good standing are those who have paid their dues in full by the November Competition Meeting night.

Competition Meeting Night

The Competition Meeting night is always the second Tuesday of each month, beginning in October and continuing through March. Entries must be handed in at the meeting held on the second Tuesday of the month PRECEDING the competition month.

For example: Entries for the November competition must be handed in at the meeting on the second Tuesday in October. Exceptions can be made if arranged in advance with the Competition Chairpersons.

The competitions are divided into two sections, [1] Prints, and [2] Digital Projection. The two sections alternate months according to the schedule announced in September at the beginning of the club “year”.

The last month’s competition in April is the exception. Competitions are held on two consecutive Tuesdays, one for Digital Projection and one for Prints. The Assigned category for that month changes every year and will be announced at the beginning of the fall meetings. 

Competition Classes

The Open categories in both prints and Digital Projection are divided into multiple levels of experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced.

1. New members may choose the class in which they feel comfortable entering, and should stay in that class for the remainder of the year, because points earned towards the Best of Year awards cannot be transferred between levels.

2. Beginning Class entrants may move up to Intermediate Class, and Intermediate Class entrants to Advanced, by choice at the beginning of a new competition year.

3. Best of Year [highest cumulative points] winners in both the Open Prints and Digital Projection categories must advance to the next higher class in that category the following year.

4. Best of Year winners need only advance in the category in which they win. For example, if an entrant wins Best of Year in the Print Category, he/she need only advance in that category, not in the Digital Projection Category. Thus an entrant can compete in two different class levels in different categories.

5. Once competitors enter a higher level Class they cannot return to a lower level Class.

Categories

There are multiple categories that can be entered each month; five digital projection categories and six print categories. One different image can be entered in each category for the appropriate month’s competition. The full definitions of each category are described at the end of these rules.

Print Categories

1.      Color Nature – All levels combined.

2.      Color Open – Beginner or Intermediate, or Advanced.

3.      Color Assigned* - All levels combined.

4.      Black & White Open – All levels combined.

5.      Black & White Assigned* - All levels combined.

6.      Creative – All levels combined.

    Digital Projection Categories

1.      Nature – All levels combined..

2.      Open - Beginner or Intermediate or Advanced.

3.      Open - Black & White – All levels combined.

4.      Creative – All levels combined

5.      Assigned* - Beginner, and Advanced are combined.
   *Assigned Categories: There are three Assigned Categories that change throughout the year.

1.      Photojournalism [PJ] – October and November competitions

2.      Portraits – December and January competitions

3.      Architecture – February & March competitions

4.      The April Competition is a Special Assigned Category that changes each year.

Digital Images Entered in All Categories

Digital images may be entered in all categories, but the extent of the alteration and manipulation for images entered in all categories except Creative must be limited to that which could be reasonably duplicated in a traditional “wet” darkroom. Stitching two or more images together to create a wide angle effect is permissible, as is removing minor elements, as long as their removal does not materially affect the main composition or reality of the recorded image.

For example, images may be cropped, spotted, burned, dodged, contrast corrected, color enhanced [such as choosing different films would accomplish], sharpened, etc, and elements such as telephone wires, small rocks, birds in the sky may be eliminated, but elements may not be cloned or moved, or added from other images.

Any type of manipulation or alteration is acceptable in the Creative Category.

Rules Affecting All Categories

1. All images must be the work of the entrant.

2. Multiple shots taken of the same scene [i.e. images taken at the same time, from the same position, with the same equipment] may not be entered in more than one category during any one monthly competition.
 

3. Images winning first, second, third place or 1^st Honorable Mention awards may not be re-entered in the same or any other category in subsequent competitions - ever.

4. An image not winning a place award may be re-entered in subsequent competitions.

5. A winning image that has been physically altered through digital or other manipulation such as using overlays, montages, etc., where the original content of the image has been changed, will be regarded as a new image and allowed in future competitions.

6. All entries must have titles unique to that entry, in order to facilitate record keeping. Different entries in the same category should not have the same name during any given competition year. Titles are especially important for entries in the Photojournalism Category, as the title is taken into consideration by the judge and can play an important role in the judging.

Rules Specific to Print Categories

     1. Size: Prints should be no smaller than 5”X 7” and no larger than
     16”X 20” [including the matting].

2. Mounting and Matting: Prints should be mounted on a stiff mounting material for display, such as cardboard or foamcore board. Matting [over-matting] is not required, but is recommended to help prevent damage to the prints. A mat is a sheet of cardboard placed over a mounted print creating a border or frame. Any mat must not exceed 16”X 20” maximum dimensions, which means that a mounted 16”X 20” print cannot have a surrounding mat. Unmounted, framed or glass mounted prints will not be accepted.

3. All prints must have the photographer’s name, title, and category entered noted on the back of the print mount. If the photographer’s name appears on the front of the mat or image, it must be covered prior to the judging or it will be disqualified.

4. Prints may be made by a commercial lab as long as the photographer took the original photograph.

5. Prints may be made from an original negative, be a direct color print reproduced from a slide, or be the result of digital imaging.

6. Black & White Prints may be toned (sepia, brown, blue, or gold) but may not be hand-colored or tinted,

7. The decision regarding the admissibility of any print in competition is at the sole discretion of the Competition Committee Chair.

8. Prints will not be accepted on the night of judging, with the exception of the Print of the Year competition in May

Print Entries Returned

All prints are returned on the night of the competition, at the end of the meeting. The club will hold prints not picked up during the competition evening, but will not be responsible for damage. They will be stored, unprotected, in the Club’s metal cabinet on the stage. 

Category Definitions

Open

This category can be interpreted liberally as that area of photography that shows the viewer a scenic vista, cityscape, pets, reflections, travel, nature, or any other image demonstrating impact, color, good composition and a valid point of interest. Portraits, photojournalism, and nature images may also be entered in this category, at the photographer’s option, but will be judged as Open.

Nature

A photograph depicting the wildlife of our planet, such as animals in the wild, birds in a natural environment, landscapes of natural beauty with no human impact included [such as fences, roads, structures, etc.], wild flowers, etc., are all in this category. Images showing cultivated flowers, domesticated animals, scenes showing cultivated fields, fences, houses, telephone lines, etc., will be disqualified. However, images in which a manmade object is part of the creature’s natural habitat, such as a stork in a roof nest, a barn swallow in its nest in a barn, as well as tagged animals in the wild, are acceptable.

Creative

Creative image making is a challenge for the photographer. This is the category to use for those images that use unique and innovative approaches to photography. Montages, multiple exposures, or color manipulation would be examples of this category. Digitally created images may be entered as long as the member created all parts of the image and the manipulation is done by or directed by the member.

Assigned Categories

Photojournalism

A photograph in which a single image tells a complete story in one image, so that a viewer can immediately get the answers to who, what, when, why and where. One interpretation of the category is that it shows humankind and its world. Titles must be included, as they are an integral part of the story telling.

Portrait

A photograph of another person, persons, or self-portrait that shows a viewer something of the character of that person. A good portrait is one in which the photographer was in control of the creation of the image. Animal pictures are not acceptable in the portrait classification, but they may be entered in the Open categories.

Architecture

Architecture is defined as any structure or group of structures designed for human habitation. Interiors, details, and exteriors where the structure is or structures are the dominant element[s] of the composition are included in this Category

April Category

This category changes every year and will be announced at the beginning of the fall meetings 

Images of the Year

The meeting on the second week of May is reserved for the Images of the Year Competition. All the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in both Digital Projection and Print categories are eligible for entry in this competition. Special awards will be given to the winners of this event. This special competition is done with live judging, and commentary on individual images is at the discretion of the judges. All entries must be turned in to the Competition Committees no later than 7:15 PM ONLY on the night of the competition, and all entries must be marked with the photographer’s name, image title, and category originally entered. Digital Projection and Prints of the Year awards will be chosen by the judges for each category, as well as Best Overall Image.

These special awards are given by the judges solely on their judgments upon viewing the images, and are not based on the cumulative points awarded for the Annual Awards described in the Judging and Scoring explanations on the web site.